Police in suburban New York say a video that claims to show a group of teenagers harassed at gunpoint for engaging in a snowball fight is a work of “clever mischief” after it went viral over the weekend.
“There was no snowball fight,” New Rochelle Deputy Police Commissioner Anthony Murphy told the New York Daily News. Police were responding to a 911 call that involved someone pulling a gun, he said.
The 30-second video, which contains profanity but can be found here, shows two young men kneeling with their hands up as an officer yells at them. A report from local news outlet Talk of the Sound says the young men are black, though it’s difficult to see in the blurry video. Police treatment of young black men has been the focus of protests across the country in recent months after grand juries in New York and Ferguson, Mo., declined to indict police officers in two deaths.
“This group of guys was having a snowball fight and now a cop has a gun on them,” a voice says in the video.
The video caused a stir in the New York suburb and across the Internet. Talk of the Sound generated so much web traffic that the site’s host thought it was “under attack.”New Rochelle Councilman Jared Rice said that circumstances surrounding the incident were unclear, and tweeted that “many questions that still need answers.”
Witness Protesters Taking Over the Streets After the Eric Garner Grand Jury Decision
A group of protesters rally against a grand jury's decision not to indict the police officer involved in the death of Eric Garner occupy the eastbound traffic lanes of the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City in the early morning hours of Dec. 4, 2014.Jason DeCrow—APProtestors block 15th Street near Pennsylvania Avenue to protest the Staten Island grand jury's decision not to indict officer Daniel Pantaleo in the Eric Garner chokehold case in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014.Jim Lo Scalzo—EPADemonstrators march through the streets of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Andrew Burton—Getty ImagesRegina Bates speaks during a demonstration in Oakland, Calif. on Dec. 3, 2014. Elijah Nouvelage—Getty ImagesPolice stand guard on the West Side highway as protesters block traffic in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—ReutersAnwar Thurston, 36, joined demonstrators who gathered to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014.Mark Makela—Getty ImagesA demonstrator cries while gathering to protest the Eric Garner grand jury decision during a Christmas Tree lighting ceremony at City Hall in Philadelphia on Dec. 3, 2014.Mark Makela—Getty ImagesDemonstrators block traffic on Highway I-395 in Washington on Dec. 3, 2014. T.J. Kirkpatrick—Getty ImagesProtestors lay down in Grand Central Station during a protest in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014.Timothy A. Clary—AFP/Getty ImagesPeople take part in a protest against the grand jury decision on the death of Eric Garner in midtown Manhattan in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Eric Thayer—ReutersProtesters raise their arms and chant at police officers in Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Caitlin Ochs—PolarisDemonstrators march in protest on the streets of St. Louis on Dec. 3, 2014. Michael B. Thomas—AFP/Getty ImagesPolice officers block protesters from marching up a highway entrance ramp near Times Square in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Seth Wenig—APA man holding a child walks with protesters as they march past Radio City Music Hall in New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Adrees Latif—ReutersAtlanta Police face off with protesters blocking Spring Street in Atlanta on Dec. 3, 2014. Erik S. Lesser—EPAA demonstrator stands next to a makeshift memorial where Eric Garner died during an arrest in July in the Staten Island borough of New York City on Dec. 3, 2014. Shannon Stapleton—Reuters
